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Still Standing

The secret behind the success of The Patty Shop

The small Vancouver shop, tucked away on a quiet strip of MacDonald Street, has become a long-standing favourite stop for students from nearby schools — and customers returning year after year for the same recipes.

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‘Little by little, people got to know us and we're still here’

The patties, a meat-and-spiced-filled pastry, are a traditional food in Jamaica. (Jennifer Chen/CBC)

Marilyn and Daryl McHardy have been serving up Jamaican patties for more than four decades.

Their small Vancouver shop, tucked away on a quiet strip of MacDonald Street north of King Edward Avenue, has become a long-standing favourite stop for students from nearby schools — and customers returning year after year for the same recipes.

Sometime between 5 and 6 a.m. every morning, the machines are whirling and the pastry is pushed into patty-shapes and filled.

By the time customers start showing up, it's just a matter of heating and serving the snacks.

"We started with pretty well nothing and, little by little, people got to know us and we're still here," Daryl said.

The small Vancouver shop, tucked away on a quiet strip of MacDonald Street, has become a long-standing favourite stop for students from nearby schools - and customers returning year after year for the same recipes. 6:14

Still Standing is a series about the small businesses in the Lower Mainland that have managed to stay open despite the challenges. Listen every second Tuesday on CBC Radio The Early Edition.

If you have a suggestion for a store or business in the Lower Mainland that's been around for awhile and provides a specialized service, or has an unusual survival story, please email earlyed@cbc.ca

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